CHIANG RAI – The Mekong River Security Unit in Chiang Rai, under the command of Capt. Pakorn Maniam ordered officers to patrol the Thai-Laos border along the Mekong River in Chiang Khong District, Chiang Rai Province. The move was meant to prevent and suppress illegal activity in the border area.
Late on the night of April 28 to 29, 2026, Capt. Thanakorn Ritjohor, head of the Chiang Khong River Station, led officers from the Chiang Rai NRS unit to inspect the riverbank area near Ban Huai Ian, Lai Ngao Subdistrict, Wiang Kaen District.
There, they found two pickup trucks parked near the water in a remote area far from the community. Officers believed the vehicles were being prepared for smuggling across the border by boat.
When officers moved in to check the area, the drivers fled into the darkness. Officers then seized both vehicles as evidence under the law. One of the trucks had a license plate from Surat Thani Province.
Around the same time, Lt. Worawit Nopkao, head of the Chiang Saen River Station, led his team to inspect Ban San Ton Pao, Mae Ngoen Subdistrict, Chiang Saen District. They found two Chinese men behaving suspiciously and unable to speak Thai.
Officers detained them and checked their status. The two were found to be foreign nationals who had entered the country illegally, so they were taken into legal custody.
The Chiang Rai NRS unit said it continues to tighten patrols and monitor the Mekong border area closely to stop smuggling and other illegal acts.
Man Freed From Prison for Just 3 Days Steals Employer’s Motorcycle
A 45-year-old former inmate, out of prison for only three days after a theft conviction, stole his employer’s motorcycle and tried to sell it. Police intercepted him before sending him back into custody.
At 5:45 p.m. on April 29, 2026, Pol Col Wichai Chai-in-kham, superintendent of Phan Police Station in Chiang Rai, along with Pol Lt Col Suparat Thamphanya, deputy superintendent for prevention and suppression, ordered patrol and investigation teams to arrest Nuandee (surname withheld), 54, a resident of Mae Yao Subdistrict, Mueang Chiang Rai District. Police also seized a gray Honda Wave motorcycle with Chiang Rai plates.
The arrest followed a report to the police radio center about a motorcycle theft in Village No. 8, Ban Rong Phiao, Huai Sak Subdistrict, Mueang Chiang Rai District. The suspect had fled on a gray Honda Wave with Chiang Rai registration, heading toward the Chiang Rai to Phayao route. Officers from Mueang Chiang Rai Police Station rushed to follow the suspect and coordinated with Phan Police Station to block his escape.
Soon after, a good Samaritan tipped off police that a suspicious man was trying to sell a motorcycle near a second-hand shoe shop on Phahonyothin Road, at the Pa Daet intersection in Ban Doi Chai Mongkhon, Mueang Phan Subdistrict, Phan District, Chiang Rai.
Patrol officers reported to their supervisors and went to inspect the area. When they arrived, they found the suspect with the motorcycle. The vehicle matched the one reported stolen, so officers moved in and detained him.
During questioning, Nuandee admitted that he stole the motorcycle from his employer’s home in Huai Sak Subdistrict, Mueang Chiang Rai District. Police also found that he had just been released from prison three days earlier after serving time for theft. He then committed another theft.
Officers took him and the seized motorcycle to Phan Police Station investigators for further legal action.
